Trying to be neighborly..... :(

[Polyluvr]

Well, I have an old lady neighbor~ somewhere in her 80's; and I haven't seen her since Fri~ no movement of her car; no footprints; and her cat has been wandering around outside.

So ; this has been bothering me; so I call the police~I really thought she could have been hurt inside her home~ and she has no family that I or any of the other neighbors know of. She's kind of a hoarder; w the town code people and the county enforcement team showing up 2x a year.

So the police come and her doors are all unlocked; so they go in~ as they are here looking for her a man from her church stops by and says she is in Fla with his Mom.
Now, she always tells me when she goes away~ so this is weird

Well~ I'm happy she is ok; but very sad about the outcome~ the police had the code enforcement people come out and they changed her locks; and aren't allowing her back inside her home. UGH! They also called social services on her

I feel really awful

 

[Agri]

Don't feel awful! Its not your fault that she's a hoarder who left her front door unlocked. If she was laying injured on her floor, it would have been the same outcome with the city.

 

[FlyingDumbo]

You could have saved her life. Dont feel bad, there is no way you could have known this would happen. She needs help, now she will get it.

 

[Polyluvr]

Thanks guys

I know she really needs some help over there; I just feel bad she has no where to go when she gets back.

 

[minnie56]

You did the right thing...what about poor kitty tho?

 

[minkydog]

You did the right thing. If she had been lyiing in there injured you would have been her hero. I'm sorry that social services had to get involved, but truly, her house must be really awful for them to take that step.

My sister's inlaws were hoarders. Their house was literally waist deep in stuff with little rabbit trails between the rooms. One night her MIL fell out of bed and fractured her hip. The FIL was unable to pick her up so he called 911 expecting that they would just put her back to bed. When the EMTs got there it took them 20 minutes to get the stretcher through the house, loaded, and back to the ambulance. They called Adult Protective Services immediately and both of them were removed from the home. When it came time to sell the house, it took my sister and her husband 8 WEEKS to get the house cleaned out.

 

[minkydog]

You did the right thing. If she had been lyiing in there injured you would have been her hero. I'm sorry that social services had to get involved, but truly, her house must be really awful for them to take that step.

My sister's inlaws were hoarders. Their house was literally waist deep in stuff with little rabbit trails between the rooms. One night her MIL fell out of bed and fractured her hip. The FIL was unable to pick her up so he called 911 expecting that they would just put her back to bed. When the EMTs got there it took them 20 minutes to get the stretcher through the house, loaded, and back to the ambulance. They called Adult Protective Services immediately and both of them were removed from the home. When it came time to sell the house, it took my sister and her husband 8 WEEKS to get the house cleaned out.

You did the right thing.

 

["Got Disney"]

She went away and just left her cat to fend for itself???

Dont feel bad....calling was the right thing to do.

I thought before they lock someone out of there home when they are hoarders that they have to give them a certain amount of time to get it cleaned up or get fined....have they done this with her already i wonder?

Hoarders cant do this alone...they need help from people that help hoarders Psyche.....and this woman is way to old to be alone anymore in a hoarded home....what a shame...

who's tending to the poor little kitty????

 

[minkydog]

oops! double post

 

[katesorad]

You certainly did do the right thing. On top of making sure that she's okay, now she won't have to live in a dangerous house anymore. I'm sure she has somebody who can help her out by either giving her a place to stay, or helping her find a proper care facility that suits her needs.

 

[tiggersbombed2]

She just left for Florida and leaves the cat to fend for himself? Nice.

 

[Scurvy]

Since the guy from her church stopped by and knew where she was, is it possible that he was caring for her cat? If so, I hope the cat will be okay now that the locks have been changed. Maybe he could catch the cat and take it home with him until the woman is able to take it back. Either way, you were trying to do the right thing, OP, and you shouldn't feel bad about what happened.

 

[Maddle]

Yes - you did do the right thing. As others have said, if she was inside and hurt you would be the hero....but if she was inside and hurt, social services still would have been called and the hoarding would have to be dealt with.

Still - something doesn't add up. Your neighbor always tells you when she goes away and this time she did not? Does she usually lock her doors? Does she usually make arrangements for the kitty? Maybe I have an overactive imagination, but has anyone been in contact with her in Florida? At least to advise her of the changed locks and clean-up notice? But also to establish that she is okay?

Do you know the man from church? Isn't it funny that he showed up just as the police did? And the neighbor-lady is in Florida with HIS mom?

Maddle

 

[Polyluvr]

Hi all

I put some food out for the kitty; I was horrified at her just leaving the kitty to fend for itself

Apparently the code enforcement officer knows her very well

He has been there before; other neighbors have previously made complaints regarding her yard; so they are familiar w her.

I was shocked that her house was unlocked and said so to the police officer; he said there isn't anything to steal~ and she probably lost the keys in that mess.

We live on a busy main road; so I nor the police thought it weird the man stopped by~ and I did hear them getting contact info from the man so the code dept could speak with her.

I'm glad I called~ she could have been dead in there

 

[LukenDC]

Sounds like there are mental health issues at play and the intervention of social services will be timely.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I think you did the right thing but the only comment is, if I was unsure, I probably would have just gone over and knocked on the door myself before I called the police. In this case, it wouldn't have helped because she wasn't there anyways.

A similar situation didn't work as well for my parents, they didn't see their neighbor across the road for two days and heard the dog whining in his backyard and his car was in the driveway. So they went over there, knocked on the door and didn't get an answer. They went to the backyard and checked on the dog and knocked on the backdoor. Still no answer, so they tried to door knob and it was unlocked, opened the door, called his name, still no answer. Went into the living room and found him on the floor, he had a brain aneurysm and had passed away. The called the police immediately, but there was obviously nothing that could have been done.

 

[Polyluvr]

I think you did the right thing but the only comment is, if I was unsure, I probably would have just gone over and knocked on the door myself before I called the police. In this case, it wouldn't have helped because she wasn't there anyways.

A similar situation didn't work as well for my parents, they didn't see their neighbor across the road for two days and heard the dog whining in his backyard and his car was in the driveway. So they went over there, knocked on the door and didn't get an answer. They went to the backyard and checked on the dog and knocked on the backdoor. Still no answer, so they tried to door knob and it was unlocked, opened the door, called his name, still no answer. Went into the living room and found him on the floor, he had a brain aneurysm and had passed away. The called the police immediately, but there was obviously nothing that could have been done.

OMG that is so awful That was exactly the scenario I was picturing~ and I guess I was afraid to find something like that~ That's why I called the police.

Thanks to everyone You all have made me feel better about doing the right thing